Winter Ends, Spring Comes!
Indiana Teenage boys and Turkish exchange student pose under palm tree with sunglasses

Change of weather, change of sports, change of scenery

I am Efe from Turkey, and I am being hosted by the Lyons family in Indiana. It is amazing to think that we are almost done with March and starting April. I have had a remarkable experience with a bunch of good memories so far. 

When swim season ended, I felt weird. The team spirit and being with friends every day after school was fun. At the time, it felt overwhelming and tiring ,but now I miss those days. So, I decided to do a spring sport and joined the track team! It is good so far except for shin splints!

Sometimes, I volunteer with the other exchange students when we have time from school and track. I have volunteered over 60 hours so far, and I love giving back to my host community. 

My favorite part of this year is my host siblings. They make my day all the time, and I am really lucky to have them. We went to Florida this spring break. I felt so good when we switched to the warm Florida weather and sunshine from the windy and cold Indiana weather.

It was just a week, but I really missed my host community. When we were back in Jay County, I looked at the cornfields and the horizon and thought about how this rural area became my second home as a city boy. 

—Efe (YES, Turkey), hosted by the Lyons family (IN)

When we were back in Jay County, I looked at the cornfields and the horizon and thought about how this rural area became my second home as a city boy.